UNKNOWN ARTIST/S: “The gooses of Meidum” - c.2700-2600 b.c. - Mural, 27- 172 cm . – Cairo Museum

The murals from the mastaba of Atet, wife of Nefermaat, in Meidum (beginnings of the IV dynasty) are a singular case in the entire Egyptian Art, since the mastaba has an exclusively pictorial decoration. From all the murals, which lamentably have been much damaged, the most famous is “The gooses of Meidum”, a prodigious of naturalism, that describes three pairs of chenalopex (gooses of the Nile ) in different positions. The exactitude and precision of each one of the gooses, contrasting with the somewhat sketchy plants, demonstrates the familiarity and even love that the ancient Egyptians felt to the animal world. We also have to highlight the variety of pigments used, including malachite, azurite and oxide of iron.